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Hi everyone!! I'm so excited to be wine steward this month (kick me in the butt if there's something I'm supposed to be doing and not doing it)!!

Okay, I actually found it kind of hard to decide on a wine...I like so many. But, I decided to go with Merlot this month.

-About the grape: Merlot is a red wine grape (but it's black) that is used as a varietal, but also for blending. Since it is soft and fleshy and it ripens earlier than Cab. Sauv., it is one of the major players in Bordeaux produced wine.

-About the varietal/wine: Merlot became a very popular varietal back in the '90s (which ultimately led me to choosing it, more after...). It is sometimes called the fruitcake wine...I like to call it a "gateway" wine.

- Although it is one of the widest grown grapes, it's major growing regions are: Bordeaux, Napa Valley, Sonoma County, Chilean Central Valley and Australia.

-Tannins: medium

-tasting notes range from red berries to plum, cedar, tobacco and fruitcake to chocolate and black cherry. This all depends on the growing climate.
-Pairing Merlot with food can be tricky because with such a range of tastes, you have a wide range. Cooler climate Merlots tend to fair better wit most food pairings as they are more acidic and versatile. For suggestions see Wikipedia's Merlot page...where I found most of this information.

The main reason that I decided to go with Merlot this month is because it was the first red wine I ever really drank (ah, college... I'm not counting pinkish "wines", mind you...like Strawberry Hill and Malibu Cooler.)
Pinot Grigio was my first white and Merlot waas my first red. For a while it was the only kind of wine i would drink...i loved it!! Remember that whole bit about Merlot coming into it's own in the 90's, well... I basically decided that I wanted to go explore it again and really find out what it's all about, not that I appreciate so many more types of wine.

**And I'm going to go ahead and include WHITE MERLOT in the Merlot category. White Merlot is made like White Zinfandel. The grapes are crushed and after a very brief period of contact with the skins, the wine is then run off and fermented. So, we'll get a whole 'nother flavor profile here, I'd imagine.

Here's the format:
Name:
Price:
Year:
PHOTO of bottle
Short intro from the wine maker about the wine:
Review:
Would you buy again?:
Wine Pairing Ideas/Recipes:

(and should we include the area/region it came from also this time? I know it was mentioned last time. I've been including it for my own curious reasons, but...??)

Very nice choice! I tend to get stuck on Cab Sauvs, so it will be nice to venture out.

ETA: I've had my fair share of Strawberry Hill back in the day....didn't we all? One of the previous months, I sent the hubby out to pick up my wine club selection. He comes back w/ Strawberry Hill and wants to take a walk down memory lane. It tasted sooooooo like koolaid ROFLMAO

Chateau Ste Michelle
About 20 bucks
2001
An old girlfriend turned me on to this merlot super good with steak or like a red sauce something full of flavor.I don't have a pic but but i do know i'ts a columbia valley wine...hope i did this right_________________Low and slow

Merlot is one of my favs! but I've never had a white merlot!! I'm looking forward to trying it out! Woooo hooooooooo_________________Danielle
"Sometimes your knight in shining armor is just a re-tard in tin foil"

Okay, I had a Merlot waiting in the wings....I tried this a couple of days ago and since I actually started keeping a wine notebook when I joined The Wine Club, I had a place to record my thoughts, and now I'm able to remember what I thought of it (handy).

Review: Rich in color, like a deep, red raspberry. Smooth, warm and slightly spicy. Nose: berries. Very mellow and semi-dry with undertones of black cherry. I liked it alot. Easy drinking alone or with food.

thanks for introducing me to this. Read about the Wine club on your blog and i just joined.

Merlot is a great choice as im a sucker for reds!! So, just clarifying, all i need to do is to have as much merlot as possible this month and keep a note of it and add the details required like the name, price, year etc and post in my blog by end of the month?? or do i have to make some kind of a mention about it here in the forum as well??

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